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Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group which represents train operators and Network Rail, said: "We understand how passengers feel when fares go up, and we know that in some places they haven't always got the service they pay for.

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"Around 97p in every pound passengers pay goes back into running and improving services.

"Fares are influenced by government policy, either through government-regulated fares such as season tickets or as a result of the payments train companies make to government.

"This money helps government to support the biggest investment in our railway since Victorian times."

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Rail , Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash said; "This latest fares hike is another kick in the teeth for British passengers and condemns them to continue to pay some of the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed out and unreliable trains.

"Once again the rip-off private train companies are laughing all the way to the bank as they whack up fares and axe staff in all-out dash to maximise their profits.

Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash described the hike as another kick in the teeth for passengers (Image: PA)

"This culture of private greed on Britain's railways has to stop and RMT will step up the fight for a publicly-owned railway where services and safety are the priority, not corporate profits. "

30-days' compensation for Southern passengers

Some of Southern rail’s long-suffering passengers in the south of England are to receive compensation (Image: PA)

Alongside the fares announcement, the government said more than 84,000 Southern Rail passengers are to receive compensation for the disruption they have experienced this year.

Some passengers will be compensated to recognise the huge number of delays, caused by "Network Rail track failures, engineering works, unacceptably poor performance by the operator and the actions of the RMT union," the firm said.

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Season ticket holders will be able to claim a refund for the equivalent of a month’s travel. Passengers with an annual ticket will be able to claim the one-off payout against their 2016 ticket, and it can be paid directly into their bank account.

Customers claiming against quarterly, monthly or weekly tickets must have bought travel for at least 12 weeks between 24 April and 31 December to be eligible.

The Government said GTR, the parent company of Southern, has the details of most season ticket holders and it will be inviting them to log on to a website to claim compensation. It will also consider proof of purchase from people claiming a payout who have not previously registered.

From 11 December passengers on Southern Rail will additionally be able to claim compensation if their train is more than 15-minutes late, under the Delay Repay 15 scheme. This currently stands at 30-minutes.

If you know the date and time you'll be travelling well ahead, book in advance using Virgin Trains' 'Ticket Offers' tool and you can get peak single fares to Manchester, Birmingham and more from £7.50.

You can book up to 24-hours in advance, but tickets sell out fast, especially peak ones. The best advice is to book around 12-weeks-6-months early. Tickets times vary from 6am - midnight.

Most in-station ticket machines do not advertise discounted or group tickets, and can therefore work out a lot more expensive, compared to buying in advance, over the counter or online the night before. Avoid this at all costs. If you've left it last minute, buy over-the-counter.

6. Book at the right time

Ticket retailers release a handful of cheap seats for each journey around 12-weeks before the date of travel, and these can save you as much as 80% – that's around £100 off the price of a London to Edinburgh ticket.

If you can't book 12-weeks in advance, you can still make big savings by booking even just a week early, so if you have any trips pencilled in your diary, check now.